"A demon cannot love a human."

That statement would find itself burned into the mind of a certain chocolate haired wolf demon. And it was, in each word, a special brand of poison. The kind in which burned him in such horrible ways.. a poison that had only one cure and that cure was just out of reach. Koga swallowed hard, biting into his lip with a pressure that was sure to draw blood. This was all he knew, all he could do, to stop the oncoming tears that fought tooth and nail to cool his overheating face. Once the pain had overwhelmed the sorrow, he would lick away the red droplets from his tender bottom lip. This weakness.. he had never knew it before. It made him feel so very unlike himself. Or perhaps… the most like himself he could have ever been. As this weakness that crept through his very being was almost intoxicating in it's presence of naturalness. It made him feel… alive… in a way that battle never possibly could.

Sun kissed fingers would find themselves against the coolness of a damp rock wall. And there they would remain, if only to reassure him that outside of this damaged mind of his was a solid reality. A reality in which his love wouldn't be considered a curse, but rather what was and was meant to be. This was how he saw it, at least. And if he saw it any other way he would most definitely break beneath the pressure of it all.

"Koga?" His name echoed throughout the depths of the dark cave that hid him. This would rip him from his self destructive thoughts, and cause him to force them further into the overly packed back of his mind.

He turned slowly, unsure of what could be being displayed on the numbness of his face. He would draw in a unsteady breath before responding. "What is it, Hokaku?" He had almost startled himself with the unfamiliarity of his own tone. Was that voice really him? Surely it couldn't have been anyone else…

Hokaku picked up on this, of course. "Are ya' alright?" he asked as lightly as he could. It was almost as if he were attempting not to startle a small child. "You've been gone sucha' long time.. we thought somethin' mighta' happened to ya…"

Something happening to him? Part of him scoffed at the very idea, while the other part of him knew all too well that what his friend had thought wasn't wrong. With this realization, he had began tuning out the continuation of his clan members uncertain words. It was for the best that he did. Koga knew that now was not the time to let his distress get the better of him. Rather, he would make a conscious effort to cloak those feelings with his usual facade of nonchalance and aggression.

"Tch! Yer' all so clingy!" he responded, storming over the best he could with the new found weight that had made itself cozy in his legs. "Can't I geta' moment ta' breathe without'cha guys always houndin' me?"

Hokaku gave a look that was an even mixture of confusion and worry. But, however much he wished he could press the topic.. he knew that it wasn't his place. And even if it were, Koga was quite obviously not the most willing to spill his true feelings to anyone. Well.. with the exception of Kagome, to an extent. So, his pressing of the matter wouldn't do anything. Or at least not anything lower wolf demon would instead just force a smile, an uneasy feeling building in his chest. He remained silent, and considerably still, as the alpha wolf passed him.

Outside of the cave was Ginta. And Ginta seemed clueless of any sort of happenings inside the cave, as if he had been mentally absent during the two's exchange. "Koga!"

Koga shot him an annoyed look in response.

"See? I told'ya he was fine!" Ginta said proudly, this being followed by a warm laugh.

"Yep, you were right. No problems here." Hokaku responded, trailing slowly after Koga.

There a bit of relief the leader felt in his friends response, not that he would have expected anything else. His friends were loyal, to him and the confidentiality he undoubtedly wanted. Especially in these matters…

Alright, Koga. Koga thought to himself confidently. You're fine. Calm down.

"So, Koga, we saw a nice fat boar a little ways back…" Ginta began, only for his sentence to be finished by Hokaku. "We saved it cuz' we know ya like a good hunt!"

A gust of air escaped his nose, a smile slipping onto his face. They would leave something so important for such a stupid reason… "How far back?" he inquired.

The pair pointed different ways.. of course… One pointing north while the other confidently motioned toward the east. Great. A challenge would get his mind back onto the right track. Without further questioning, the chocolate haired wolf took off in a small cyclone.

Kagome stretched her arms as long as they could go, this was by followed a light squeak that was only comparable to the sound of a well heated kettle. It was such a nice day! The sun was shining, birds were singing, and Inuyasha was storming toward her… she squinted her eyes and her lips began making a weird slightly open shape as she locked focus on the annoyed red faced hanyou that was coming straight for her. Why was he… oh boy. This didn't look good, at all. But before she could even get a word out, he started in.

"We're spose'ta be lookin' fer the jewel shards!" Aah, and per normal he starts off what could have been a lovely interaction by accusing her of being lazy. This shtick got old and surely he had to have known that. Regardless, he kept doing it anyway. Wow, isn't he charming? She frowned. And by charming she meant witheringly obnoxious. "But here you are! Loungin' around!" There he go.

"And so what if I am?" And there she go. She could feel herself getting worked up and as much as she wanted to stop herself, she couldn't. The raven haired beauty responded back with almost exactly what she was met with. Give or take a bit more sass. This was what always happened with the pair, and honestly she couldn't conquer up any other type of response.

Somehow he always found himself stumped when she actually gave a response to his badgering. So, the hanyou paused for a brief moment to take a deep breath. It was clear he was trying to think of some sort of witty come back that would leave him looking cool. However, from Kagome's view? He just looked like he was some sorta' anime character. And a lame one at that! Why did he always have to be so dramatic about every little thing? Kagome would think to herself, completely disregarding how dramatic she was a good ninety percent of the time.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes toward her and his lips shifted into an irritated frown. Although, after a moment of inspecting her current stance toward him.. he noticeably calmed down. He knew very well that this was just another battle he would indefinitely end up losing and he was just not in the mood for pursuing that. Truthfully, it would only delay what he needed to get done. With that simple logic, he convinced himself to withhold the words he was burning to say. "Tch! Whatever! Let's just get going!"

She rolled her eyes, reluctantly peeling herself off the comfortable greenery and rising to her aching legs. It was times like this that she missed her bike, ya know the one Inuyasha broke in basically it's prime. Or maybe a car… aah, just anything they kept her from walking this long. By the time she had turned her gaze back to her companion, he had already gotten a fair distance away from her and all she could see was his back. How rude could he possibly be?! All that it took to get his attention back to her again was the heavy sigh she let out at the very thought. And that was a glare that made her visibly flinch. He was lucky to have her here! Why did he have to be so mean? So inconsiderate? Koga would never be so rude to her!

… Koga… It'd been a while since she had last seen him. Her thoughts changing all too quickly to the wolf. I wonder what he's doing right about now…

"Wait up!" Synchronized plea's would rip through the air, and quite possibly ripping up their throats in the process. Hokaku and Ginta were just barely keeping up to Koga who had just swiftly and successfully caught a certain aforementioned boar. He proudly raised it up and over his shoulders. Koga turned back to face his hyperventilating companions and chuckled.

"Oh, come on! Don't look so tired! This was a good hunt!" He barked out.

The pain building up in their chest would say other wise, and even if they ignored that.. well, there was still the suffocating feeling of the tightness located in their throats.

"Sure.. good…" Hokaku whimpered.

Ginta just waved his hand, there was no chance he could even get out a sarcastic response right now. Not with this burning.

He could never understand why a little physical activity was always way too much for his comrades to handle. Perhaps that meant he needed to work them a bit harder. That might build up their tolerance a bit, so this would seem just like what it is. Nothing.

Wait.. he tilted his head up and took a deep inhale. Was that scent what he thought it was? He sniffed at the air, turning in circles for a bit before finally sticking to one direction. It just might be… Koga sniffed that direction for a bit before his lips shifted into a devious grin. No doubt. It was his beloved.. his Kagome. Better still, she wasn't too far off. The boar, light as it already was, felt like a feather draped about his shoulders as he took off with breakneck speed toward what was unmistakably his love.

"KOGAAAAA." Hokaku cried out, grasping at the air. He could feel tears bubble up in his eyes just anticipating the run they would need to make.

Ginta was ahead of the curve, collapsed on the ground for a desperately needed nap.

"WE GOTTA GO, GINTA. HE'S LEAVING US AGAIN." The wolf groaned in anguish. "GINTAAAA."

The trend of 'there that boi go' is strong.

Kagome couldn't get the happenings of that morning out of her head. And what was worse is that she felt bad for thinking about Koga in such a way. For romanticizing the way he was just because Inuyasha was being a bother. She dragged her feet, eyes not leaving the ground below her for more than a moment or two at a time. This was simply to ensure she wouldn't go running into one of her friends. The priestess behavior wasn't missed by Sango who slowed down considerably to match her pace. Once they were side by side, she lightly placed a hand on her friends shoulder in an attempt to ease her.

"Kagome, are you feeling well?" The chocolate haired slayer would ask in a motherly tone.

The priestess was in a bit of a daze, only just now trying to break out of the weird purgatory of her thoughts. But, she would glance toward her for a moment. The worried look she was given brought her instantly back to reality. And just like flicking a light back on, she had to began to consciously hold her tongue once more. She didn't want to say what had been troubling her, especially when the cause of her distress was within ear shot. Sango picked up on that fact pretty fast. She gave a muted oh and released her shoulder.

"Men can be so troublesome." she said beneath her breath, though she knew full well the culprit of her friends sadness would hear her.

Kagome gave a nod, "Too often, I'd say."

Regardless of the pettiness in the two's actions, it was amusing to them and so they exchanged soft smiles. Definitely a picker upper for Kagome.

"Not all men." Miroku chimed in, a certain hopefulness in his words.

"You're right." Sango returned. This brought a smile to Miroku's face… feeling victorious in a way. Well, up until the sentence was finished. "Some are worse." Oh. Oh god. Defeat.

Inuyasha scoffed, trying with all his might not to comment. But, his ego got the better of him. "Alright! Enou–" It was as if he was being tested, and failed in that very moment. This seemed accurate because he was practically cut off by the strong scent of wolf that was becoming overwhelming to his sensitive noise. It was almost like a rag being pushed in his face with how strong it was. No.. no! NOT HIM. NOT NOW. The dog glared around anxiously. What could he do?! HIDE KAGOME? No! She'd never go for it! UUHHH… UHHHH!

And with one large gust of wind, Koga could be heard from right behind him. "Kagome! Sup!" He happily greeted. NO. He turned around. THE BACK ATTACK. COULDN'T FACE ME FIRST?! Inuyasha internally raged.

The priestess and half demon couldn't have been so day and night with their reactions to the wolf's entry. As Kagome seemed to light up upon simply seeing his face, and her hands eased into his rough grasp of his palms. A thing that at one point in time might have bothered her far too much now seemed normal. She might have actually thought something was wrong if he didn't instantly reach for her.

"What are you doin' here, flea bag!?" Inuyasha seethed toward the wolf.

It was like Inuyasha was a muted television because Koga didn't even glance to acknowledge him. He was far too entranced by the radiant smile on his darlings face.

"Have you been eating well? Sleeping enough?" he asked warmly, raising one hand to lightly brush bangs out of her was probably the only thing he would move his hands for. That or her asking him to release her, of course.

She laughed a bit. It felt so uncharacteristic of her to be so soothed by his touch. However… "Yep! Keepin' nice and active too!" she didn't want him to let go. Not yet.

He gladly returned her smile, heart skipping a beat at her bell like laugh that fluttered to his ears. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that. I always worry about ya', Kagome."

Surely she knew that, it wasn't as if he hadn't said that and things like it before. He was always being so bold about his feelings toward her.. But, she caught her a little off guard this time. A weird butterfly feeling finding it's way to her stomach and causing her to tilt her head a bit. "I worry about you too, Koga."

Swoon. NO. MANLY. … What is a manly word for swoon? Uhh.. No, fuck it. These are my thoughts, and I want to say swoon. He bit his lip a bit. "Ya' do?" It wasn't often she would make those sorts of comments back. He wouldn't act too in awe about it though. That might just encourage her to avoid that behavior next time.

"Of course I do." His heart skipped a beat, and he could feel the redness heat up his face. "You're dear to me, Koga." And just like that he was living out a fantasy. Or… was it really a fantasy… Did she say that?… Was he imagining things? Oh god, she's giving you a funny look. Say something. ANYTHING.

"I love you, Kagome." Nailed it.

Kagome's eyes widened to what she felt was the size of dinner plates, and her jaw practically dropped ten feet. Had he heard her incorrectly? He must have! She was getting flustered, and without a proper response back she just stammered. That was because, what the wolf didn't know was what she had actually said. That being "You're a dear friend to me, Koga". She could feel her face overheating… Why was she reacting like this? She had never reacted this way before! It was just that… him saying that– it felt different this time.

Koga was completely oblivious to any misunderstanding. Although with how dense he is to most everything that had to do with interactions with people… was it really unexpected? All the man could focus on was how absolutely precious she looked! It didn't matter how many times he said it, or when he did, she always reacted in such sweet ways. And people wondered why he had fallen in love with a human. If they ever met her.. if they'd ever gotten to know her? They wouldn't need to question. It's that abundantly clear how. These sorts of thoughts wouldn't be known by the priestess. As on the outside he was simply wearing a bright grin and a blush that would seem to blend in with the warmth of his skin.

Once she had managed to relax the heart thrashing about her chest. She would take yet another bit of time to think of a proper response. Was there even one? Surely she couldn't be as bold as him. And even if she could.. she didn't feel that way for him… did she? No, she loved Inuyasha!

… Right?

Kagome stood still speechless as her eyes refused to move away from Koga's. She felt frozen in time, and for some reason.. she didn't want to be moved. Honestly she might not have if not for Inuyasha's interference. The half demon stormed over to the pair, and tugged on the wolf's eagerly wagging tail. Just like that the trance was broken.

Koga felt a chill rip up his spine, not even thinking twice about returning the tug with a swift kick across the half breed's face. Who would even for a second think that was okay?! It was so childish! And like a child, he would have to be taught a lesson. The wolf leader released her hands faster than he ever has to reach a hand to the base of his tail. Fuck that hurt… "Keep yer' hands to yer'self muttface!"

Inuyasha was used hitting the ground, and his face for that matter. Kagome had practically trained him to take those pains as a light pinch with all the sit commands.. he rubbed his jaw softly. The ache wouldn't stop him from yelling, "PRACTICE WHAT'CHA PREACH, FLEA BAG!"

How could he compare him to something so stupid? He was a demon! No where near being a monk! Koga furrowed his eyebrows, and his tone gained a certain animistic aggression, "Preach!? I'm not that weird monk, alright? I don't preach!"

"Weird?" Miroku blurted out, clearly offended by the term being associated with him. He quickly turned to Sango for reassurance only to find that she would give him none. Only a look of 'he's not lying'.

"NOW YER' INSULTIN' MY FRIENDS? DO YOU WANNA DIE?" Inuyasha snarled.

Miroku could almost cry. Inuyasha… of all people… was defending him? They had come so far since the beginning… "Inuyasha.." he said in a heartfelt tone.

"SHUT UP, MIROKU." WHERE HAD THE FRIENDSHIP GONE?! AND SO FAST!

Miroku, always getting caught in the crossfires, resigned in defeat to a near by tree in which he would attempt to soothe his sorrows. Leaving only a trail of mutters.. something about how he felt hurt.. and a guilty looking Sango following behind. Her words, however, were incoherent in the background noise of another unnecessary dog fight.

And now I bet you're wondering.. what is Kagome doing in all this chaos? Well, she was doing what she inevitably found herself having to every time they fought. That was, of course, trying to split the two up. "Would you two stop it?" she whined.

"He started it!" Koga said factually.

"No! You did! Why can't cha' just leave Kagome be?!"

Visually insulted, perhaps even more so than Miroku, the wolf took to once more using aggressive behavior to cover his distress. "If she didn't want me here? She'd say so! Ya know, like the things girls say to all the time!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Oh. Yer' stupid, so I shoulda' expected I'd have ta'explain! DOES A' CERTAIN DEAD PRIESTESS SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU?!"

"YOU'RE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!" Kagome screamed.

Had that wolf seriously brought up Kikyo?! What kind of sick fuck would do that?! Inuyasha flinched from the comment, and furrowed his eyebrows. "You don't know a single thing about Kikyo!" Good come back. Really.

"Don't have to!" Koga could be so petty sometimes. "Because even without knowin' shit about her, I get that she don't like ya'!"

"Just like Kagome doesn't like you?!" Inuyasha was kind of.. well, not even kind of, he was entirely willing to cover his feelings with aggression as well. Seriously, if not for the two's excessive testosterone and lack in understanding that just because you like someone doesn't mean you have any sort of claim over them? They might actually be great friends. Too bad they're immature and those factors rule them to a fault. The half breed wasted no more time before whipping his tessaiga out of it's sheath, directing the tip of the blade toward Koga. Oh my.

Just like clock work, Koga returned his blade with readied fangs and one hand finding itself lingering over the hilt of his own sword. This is what the yaoi fan girls have been waiting for…

They might have torn into each other if it hadn't been for Kagome losing her patience with the whole thing. In some sense, she was scarier than the all of their weapons combined. That's what comes with being the main love interest, I guess. "ENOUGH! The last person to drop there weapons is getting the silent treatment until I decide otherwise!"

Inuyasha hesitated for a moment, "Wha!? Kagome!" Surely no man could turn down battle! It was a matter of pride! A matter of manliness! A matter of– … five seconds before Koga was to Kagome's side apologizing profusely. BASTARD!

"Forgive me, Kagome.. I spose' I just get a lil' defensive over ya'…" he said in a defeated tone. Sure he hated Inuyasha, and wanted to rip him limb from limb. That wasn't even something to question. However, he wouldn't think twice about putting Kagome's wants over his own. He wanted her happiness above all else.

And as much as the half breed thought his feelings for the priestess were sincere, that he thought he felt the same way.. well, it was clear that he didn't. "Cut the shit!" Inuyasha said, sheathing his sword once more before closing the gap between his jewel detector and himself. "Yer' just sayin' shit she wants to hear! Be honest! Yer' scared'a really fightin' me!"

Did he really just say that? Kagome sighed, tuning out her companion as best she could. Koga's words were much more pleasing, after all. Actually, his words left her trying her best to fight the smile that she knew would be inappropriate for the situation. "It's okay, Koga. I'm just glad you made the effort to listen. It takes a real man not to put his pride over the feelings of others."

"You can't be serious!" Inuyasha practically whined.

"Did you hear something?" The priestess said in a childish way. She did say the last person to put down their weapon would get the silent treatment, right? Although… if she really wanted to do that she shouldn't have acknowledged him in any way…

"Nope!" Koga said happily, grinning now.

Inuyasha responded to this much like an upset child, very unbecoming to say the least, "You can't be serious! I put my weapon away! And I–" he got cut off by the higher voice of Shippo.

"This might start being no good soon." Shippo pointed out casually, motioning toward the boar that had basically been left to rot

Koga glanced toward the boar he had nonchalantly dropped out of his shoulders in frustration, and frowned. Oh yeah.. that was a thing… "As much as it pains me to say, I might have'ta start headin' back now." And boy did it pain him to say that… Especially when things were going so good with Kagome.

And following suit of her previous out of character feelings? Kagome really didn't want him to leave either. When Koga was away, it was fairly easy for her to manage forgetting him… yet, right as he came back? She started to feel things she couldn't help were wrong to feel. That she wanted so very selfishly for him to remain beside her. That a part of herself had come back and she was losing it again.. wait, what? What was she even going on about? It hadn't even occurred to her that during this little emotional fit, she had reached out and caught Koga by his wrist and was holding strangely tight.

The chocolate haired wolf looked at her with confusion etched into every detail of his face. Was she okay? His azure eyes would dart back and forth from her hand to her face for a moment or two before he said… "Kagome?" in a worried tone.

The awkward teen quickly let go once she gathered what she was doing, raising her hands up in a surrendering type of way. "You should head back before that gets cold- or uh– yeah, cold, right? Don't want it to go bad! No sir! Fresh meat is better– make some boar burgers, huh? Wait… You don't… know what burgers are.. do ya? Oh god.. they're uh–" please, shut up. She told herself but continued rambling random things for a little bit longer before actually doing so.

Koga waited as patiently as he could for her to finish saying what she was, not wanting her to think he didn't care what she had to say. During her little ramble fest he raised an eyebrow, and squinted one of his eyes. Those reactions were unconscious, though. "Uhh… okay?" Weird.

Inuyasha was surprisingly quiet during this whole ordeal. He was managing just to watch for once.. and it was a scene familiar to one Koga had witnessed a bit back. The scene was of course being when Kagome ran into Inuyasha's arms crying after she thought he might have died fighting Renkotsu of The Band of Seven. He couldn't help but wonder if seeing that hurt as bad as watching this. Honestly, just seeing her even touch Koga's arm… it burned him.

"Well, I'll be off." Huh? What did he miss? Koga was leaving?

The wolf lightly took her hands into his own, making a deep eye contact as he often did. "I'll return to you as soon as I am able, Kagome."

She reacted weirdly to this, looking into his eyes in a sort of dreamy way that the half demon hadn't seen before… it made him feel sick. "Be safe." she said far too sweetly for Inuyasha's comfort.

Regardless of what Kagome wanted at the time, he couldn't stand seeing her oggle someone else. And it made it much worse that the person she was oggling was Koga! Inuyasha broke them apart just as Koga flashed his signature grin. Koga didn't seem bothered by it, though. He simply went over to the boar, picked up and dropped it on his shoulders before taking off without another word.

"What the hell was that?" Inuyasha snapped, turning to his companion.

Kagome responded with a light, "Huh?"

"Don't huh me! You were actin' really weird!" He pointed out, glaring at her now.

She shrugged,"I don't think I was. Should we get going?"

Inuyasha bit his lip. It was quite obvious that he wanted to push the topic, but he knew better. He had already gotten too pushy before about the whole.. Koga.. thing.. and all she did take Kilala and leave. No… he would rather have her stay with him. "Yeah… whatever…" he muttered.

... To be continued in next chapter ...